


Horses, 3DMG, and Automobiles

by liz_the_terrible



Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-14
Updated: 2014-10-14
Packaged: 2018-02-21 03:33:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2453156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liz_the_terrible/pseuds/liz_the_terrible
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was during an expedition outside the wall. Erwin got separated from the rest of the corps and stumbled on something extraordinary.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Horses, 3DMG, and Automobiles

     It was the year 844. The Survey Corps had begun another expedition beyond the wall. They started their expedition leaving through the Shiganshina district along a road that they had been able to keep relatively clear. Their mission each time they left the safety of the wall was to go farther down that road than they ever had before. It was a slow, painstaking process, and every kilometer of regained territory was bought at the price of countless lives. This was common knowledge.  
Erwin took the lead for this expedition. He sat astride his horse at the gate with his soldiers behind him and Mike beside him. He waited with anticipation and set his gaze in a confrontational glare to prepare himself for the outside. As the gates shook and began to lift off the ground Erwin could sense the ripple of excitement streaked with cold terror that ran through his comrades. Light fell on to the horse's hooves and traveled upwards as the gates continued to rise at a painfully slow rate. The sunlight was licking Erwin's boots now. A soft breeze kicked up and rustled his horse's mane. The gate was now at eye level. He took a deep breath as it opened all the way. After a short pause he let out his breath in a loud yell which propelled the entire regiment to charge into the clear sunlight and cool breeze. The cacophony of hundreds of hooves on stone deteriorated into a dull thunder of soft thuds on the dirt road outside.  
  
     The company rode for a short while before breaking into Erwin's Long Distance Scouting formation. Everything was going smoothly until they rode out by the forest. A titan lumbered out of the trees and gave chase to the front guard. By the time Erwin had grabbed his flare gun to send a retreat signal, four more titans came out of the trees. Two of them were 15-meter class, one 6-meter and one 7-meter. Erwin pulled his reigns to turn around and fired a green signal back towards the direction they came. The entire front guard was swarming around the titans like flies.  
     One of the 15-meter classes took a step toward Erwin and planted its grotesque face solidly in front of him. Its breath had a choking stench and it stared at him with its haunting dead eyes. He pulled on his reigns and spurred his horse to evade the thing but it was too late. It reached down a giant hand and grabbed Erwin by his riding cape, lifting him into the air as Erwin's horse ran pell-mell into the forest. Erwin frantically pulled out his 3dmg. He spotted Mike making a B-line towards him and Erwin called down to Mike to retreat and lead the expedition back to the wall. Erwin pulled out his swords and planted an anchor in the titan's forehead with his right hand while he reached around and sliced the titan's wrist with his left.  
     The titan's grip went limp. For a brief second Erwin was in free-fall and then he hit the gas. The titan's face loomed in front of him, jaw wide open, waiting. He threw his weight to one side, grazing past the monster's ear, and around the back of its neck. But when Erwin planted his blades to carve that vital slice of flesh, the thing convulsed, as though in shock, throwing him up into the air and towards the forest. He quickly planted an anchor in the closest tree and landed on a thick branch. He studied the titan as it looked around apparently confused. He held his breath, motionless in the tree. For a moment, Erwin thought the titan was going to go back towards the corps but it turned its gaze back to the forest and quickly spotted him hiding there. It lumbered over to Erwin and threw its body into the tree. Erwin lost his balance as the tree shook violently. He leaped to another tree. It followed him. He went to another, on a higher branch where he was concealed by leaves. It still followed him. He leaped silently to another tree, a higher limb, and the slow thing was still looking at where he had been. Erwin planted an anchor in the trunk of the tree the titan was still beating against. He fell upon it and carved its flesh as he flew back up into the treetops. The titan fell to the ground with a rush of air and a heavy thump and began steaming. The deed was done.  
     There was no way Erwin would be able to reach his squad again without his horse. Until he found the damn thing he knew he was as good as dead. He took note of his position, he had not been unaware of his location after all, but he couldn't hear the sounds of other squad members in the distance. Everything was still and silent.

  
     Erwin took a chance and whistled for his horse. He waited a moment. Nothing. He whistled again and waited. This time he heard a whinny off in the distance. He waited a few moments but his horse was still missing. So Erwin took off into the trees towards the whinny he'd heard. He arrived in a dark space where his horse appeared to be tangled in vines and brambles. As he cut his horse loose and calmed it down something caught Erwin's eye. There was a glint of light off something hiding in the underbrush. It was large and vines had long ago grown around it. He tied his horse to a nearby tree and attacked the bushes again.  
     He uncovered something large, metal, and black that closely resembled a carriage with strange wheels and a large, waist high protrusion from the front. It had 2 circular pieces affixed to the front and a metal grate on what could only be described as the nose. The machine was shining as if it were brand new and it sat on top of a black, smooth rock with rough edges like this object had been cut out of somewhere else and dropped there.  
     Though it was strange, the object was undoubtedly beautiful. Erwin contemplated it and examined it down to the small "B" logo with small wings coming out of it. He felt strangely drawn to what he could only think of as an odd carriage. He walked around to the door and pulled it open. The interior had a wheel and a strange panel with a hole in it as well as two leather bench seats. Scattered on the floor were a handful of black boxes that looked approximately large enough for the slot in the panel. Erwin slid into the carriage and glimpsed a key. He turned the key "-GIRLS YOU MAKE THE ROCKIN WORLD GO ROUND-"  
     Erwin nearly jumped out of his skin. He quickly turned the key the other direction and shut the unnerving sound off. He sat in paranoid silence, listening for titans to make sure they hadn't heard him. After painful moments of holding his breath, Erwin still heard nothing. He cautiously continued his investigation. He found a door underneath the protrusion from the front window on the side opposite the wheel. He carefully unlatched it and it swung down to reveal a single item: an envelope. Erwin picked up the envelope and examined it. But just as he was considering opening the letter he heard thunderous footsteps in the distance. Erwin stuffed the letter in his jacket and bolted out of the carriage. He untied his horse and jumped on to its back, spurred it on as fast as it would go out of the forest.

  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
     Erwin did make it back to the formation within 2 hours travelling at breakneck speed. His comrades looked at him with awe as they presumed Erwin was dead. Miraculously no titans had followed him out of the forest. It almost seemed as though someone was looking out for him that day. It almost seemed as though someone wanted him to find that carriage.  
     The corps returned to the wall just before nightfall and stayed overnight in Shiganshina. Up in his room Erwin took the envelope from his pocket and carefully opened it and removed the contents, his heart racing. The letter read as follows:

_Nutter wrote it all down. Volume 2._  
She can explain everything.  
Prophesies in Az's shop Soho, London.  
Take care of the Bentley.  
\--A.J.C.  
 _P.S. sorry for the music_

     The handwriting was rushed and the note's contents made little sense to Erwin. But it did make him feel a mixed sense of hope and complete despair. Someone knew how it all started. Someone knew and wrote it down. This could turn the tides, it could change everything!  
     But the despair settled in when Erwin realized he had one question, one that he knew there was little hope of answering. What the hell is London?

**Author's Note:**

> this was the result of a facebook conversation with a few of my friends when we were speculating over the idea of attack on titan taking place in a post apocalyptic future.


End file.
